“Are you cooking for me?” He got friendly, moving right in to kiss Jack on his scratchy cheek.
“It’s my one dish. French toast. I can also make a turkey sandwich, in a pinch.” Jack turned his head and captured a kiss of his own.
“Mm. It smells good and I’m excited. Thank you for the coffee too. How long have you been up?”
“An hour, maybe. Long enough to check my texts and make coffee. The traffic out there is wild.”
“Rush hour. I don’t need to drive in it anymore, so I don’t. I just look down at the cars and drink my coffee.” Hudson gave him a squeeze. “I thought we could wander a bit today, and then get dressed up and go out to dinner tonight. What do you think?” He could show off his cowboy. He never got to see Jack all cleaned up.
Sure. Sounds like a plan. You can show me around.” Jack put some French toast on a plate.
“Oh, this looks so good.” Jack had managed to find everything he needed in his kitchen and make him breakfast. Who was this amazing man? They’d known each other so long, but there were still a lot of things they didn’t know about each other.
“Yeah. I learned from my Aunt Beth. My special cooking skill.” Jack rolled his eyes and grinned. “Eat up. I hope it’s good.”
“Bring it on.” Hudson poured the syrup on thick and dug in, humming happily as he started to chew. “Mmm. Mm-hm.”
“Someone likes that…” Jack started another panful of yumminess. “I like to watch you eat.”
“You’re weird.” He grinned and shook his head, but he kept eating because it was so damn good. Breakfast was his favorite meal.
“Yeah, yeah, if I had a dime for every time I was accused of that shit, I’d have a lot of dimes.”
Jack could make him laugh. Hudson chuckled and sipped his coffee. “If we have time, I’ll show you where I work… when I’m in Denver. It’s a big place, very techy and also very corporate depending on what you do.”
Jack glanced at him. “Yeah? Do you like it? I mean, I guess you must, since you do it.”
“I like the tech part and the research, but I don’t really care about the corporate stuff, except that I would like what I engineer to sell to someone.” He grinned. “That’s kind of the point.”
“True that. I’m not a salesman, but I don’t have to be. I get to rope and ride for work.” Oh, look at that satisfied grin, that nod.
“It’s something to watch, you know. The way you ride, what you do out there.” And Jack didn’t do it for the spotlight like the bull riders. He just loved it.
“It’s what the good Lord put me on this earth to do.” There was something absolutely peaceful about Jack’s expression as he pulled the last batch of French toast off.
“That’s obvious.” It was the same with Mackey and Tommy, and even the bull riders. You had to have a passion for it, as crazy and dangerous as it was. Hudson loved it too, as a sport, to watch, but he knew he’d never have the courage.
“It’s not what you do, but we all got to be what we are. You got an amazing brain.” Jack’s words made him blink.
“Thank you. I’m not sure how you know that when really, you spend much more time with my ass…” He grinned at Jack, more proud of that joke than he ought to have been.
“You mean that you don’t think I can appreciate both? I’m wounded!” Jack fluttered his eyelashes dramatically.
“What I think is that you should give me another slice of French toast.” He fluttered his right back, goofing off.
“Hungry man.” Jack gave him two more pieces.
“One would have been enough.” But he’d eat both. “Did you bring something to dress for dinner, or do we need to shop for you?”
“I got my good jeans and a nice shirt. That work?” Jack brushed a drop of syrup off Hudson’s bottom lip, then sucked it clean.
He could feel his cheeks heating up. “Totally works. I am so full. Let me digest a second, and I’ll help with the dishes.” Doing dishes with Jack was actually fun and felt weirdly normal.
“Mmhmm.” Jack was eating eagerly, devouring his breakfast.
Hudson hopped down from his stool when his phone chimed and scooped it up off the coffee table where it was charging. “Who dares interrupt my breakfast?”
It was Ellie.